


Lady of Roses

by MakuTheSpaceArtist



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Character, Break Up, Cristina works in a flower shop, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mark broke up with Kieran, Mundane, Post-Break Up, Strangers to Lovers, They talk, eventually, that's all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 07:58:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12008424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MakuTheSpaceArtist/pseuds/MakuTheSpaceArtist
Summary: When Kieran finally opened his eyes that morning he immediately felt something was wrong. He vaguely remembered turning his alarm off around 5 times, but it took him a while to realise how late he was because of it. When he saw the clock showing 11:37am he tried to convince himself that it was only a mistake or that his clock didn't work correctly. The realisation struck him when he checked the time on both his phone and a clock in another room. Not only was he late to his morning classes, but he was also late to a very important exam.This day couldn't be worse.





	Lady of Roses

**Author's Note:**

> >>DISCLAIMER: None of those characters are mine; They belong to Cassandra Clare the author of The Shadowhunters Chronicles. This is solely a not-for-profit fan activity.<<
> 
> Hello!  
> It's my first time writing something after years. I felt the need to write a little Kiertina fic. For now it's going to be an oneshot, but I'm already thinking about a continuation, since this art doesn't really have an ending.  
> Just wanted to say that English is not my native language. If there are any mistakes I'm really sorry and I hope that it won't affect the story!  
> I hope you'll enjoy it!

When Kieran finally opened his eyes that morning he immediately felt something was wrong. He vaguely remembered turning his alarm off around 5 times, but it took him a while to realise how late he was because of it. When he saw the clock showing 11:37am he tried to convince himself that it was only a mistake or that his clock didn't work correctly. The realisation struck him when he checked the time on both his phone and a clock in another room. Not only was he late to his morning classes, but he was also late to a very important exam.  
This day couldn't be worse.  
He groaned in frustration, considering going back to bed, instead of going to uni and trying to talk his professor into giving him another chance. He rejected this idea as fast as he could. He had to get himself back together. Kieran sat down in his armchair, rubbing at his temple while nervously thinking about the best plan to fix today's failure. He got back to his feet and started getting ready.  
Kieran didn't fool himself-he really didn't want to get out of his apartment. He still wasn't ready to deal with his daily life after last week's events. He sighed, feeling the tight grip in his chest at the memories. He still could hear his boyfriend's words, he still could feel the emotions he felt. Kieran was sure he never cried as much as that day, clenching the phone in his hands, hoping Mark will call him again and say that it was not true, that everything was some stupid, immature joke.  
But nothing like this happened and since that day Kieran hasn't heard from his boyfriend.  
Well, ex-boyfriend actually.  
Coming to terms with getting dumped through phone after being together for four years was something Kieran still couldn't do. He promised himself that he will be angry for such a disgraceful treatment, that he's going to forget Mark as fast as possible. That Mark never truly deserved his love.  
But none of the arguments he created in his mind really worked for the way he felt in real life.  
He sighed again, feeling frustrated with himself being so sentimental and emotional. He got out of his apartment and started quickly running on the sidewalk, barely avoiding hitting into other walking people.  
The one thing he completely didn't avoid was a bucket of flowers standing next to a small flower shop close to his apartment building. Kieran got so lost in his thoughts about Mark that he ran into the bucket with full force, not only spilling it's contents everywhere, but also spilling half of the water on himself.  
He stood there, in the middle of the sidewalk, considering if this was the time he should jump under a car.  
This day got even worse.  
He sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose to calm his nerves. He could feel passerbys looking at him with surprise, some of them even laughing quietly at the state he was in. Kieran decided not to comment on this kind of behaviour, concentrating on picking up the flowers into the bucket. They were beautiful, red roses. Most of them were broken due to the fall and Kieran stomping on them. The guilt and sadness spread in his chest, when he thought about how much work someone had put into growing them and preparing them for sale. He looked at the open door of the flower shop and decided he couldn't just leave without taking responsibility. Looking at his wet trousers and half wet shirt Kieran just shook his head and, carrying the bucket with the remains of the destroyed roses, he went inside the shop.  
The strong smell of flowers hit him immediately. It was awfuly sweet, almost intoxicating.  
Kieran didn't really visit much flowers shops before, but he was sure none of the ones he saw looked like this one. There were flowers wherever he looked-buckets with cut flowers covering almost the whole floor,pots and bouquets standing on the few tables and inside the cabinets, small pots hung on hooks under the ceiling. The only place where there were no flowers was the narrow path to the counter. In a small room like this it gave an owerwhelming feeling, almost as if Kieran found himself in some magical forest. He got closer to the counter when he heard someone coming from the back.  
“Hello, how can I hel...oh!” the florist stood in place when she saw the state Kieran was in and the bucket of destroyed flowers in his head. She has to be around my age Kieran thought, looking at the girl behind the counter. She was a Latina, with long, dark, curly hair, styled into a half-updo pinned with rose hair clip. She looked at him with big, brown eyes, that were more amused than shocked. He looked quickly at her nametag. “Cristina”.  
Kieran placed the bucket on the counter, not really sure how to explain the situation, without making himself look like and idiot.  
After a second he realised, that there was no way he can not make himself loo like an idiot.  
He sighed quietly and brushed his fingers through his hair to think about the best words.  
“I'm very sorry, my lady” he started, not missing the way Cristina's mouth quircked upwards at the words “my lady”. He knew the way he spoke was quite oldfashioned, but he got used to the way people laughed at him, so he continued “I didn't pay enough attention on the sidewalk and actually managed to walk right into this bucket with your flowers...It was definitely not intentional and I'm very, very sorry for what happened.”  
For a few seconds the florist just looked at him without saying anything. Kieran found it odd that he didn't really mind her staring at him and didn't feel awkward at all. He returned the gaze waiting for a response.  
“I...” Cristina started, moving her stare to look at the bucket. He bit her lips slightly, trying to hold back laughter, but couldn't stop herself from smiling “I mean, you don't have to worry about it. Really.”  
Kieran too lowered his gaze to the roses lying miserably in the bucket.  
“I would like to pay for them all. It is my fault that they're all destroyed. I am very sorry for wasting your work.”  
Cristina looked at him again, her smile wide and bright. She moved the bucket closer to herself and started pulling some of the roses out.  
“Just like I told you before, you don't have to worry about it” she answered, breaking off a crushed stalk from one of the roses. When Kieran opened his mouth to protest she stopped him with a hand gesture “Really, I won't take money from you. Most of the roses are still fine to be used in bouquets or in flower crowns. I will find a way to give them life, you can be sure about it.”  
She pushed one of the roses towards him.  
“If you want though you can buy one. For your girlfriend or your boyfriend” for a second Kieran wondered if it was a statement or a question. He just shook his head, feeling a stab of pain in his chest, when he thought about Mark again.  
Her ethusiasm made Kieran feel a little better, but he still felt guilty. The fact that he was all over the place and had to lock himself up at home for four days straight was miserable enough. He didn't want the first day out to go this way.  
When he looked up at Cristina again she was studying his face with interest and-something Kieran was sure he imagined-concern. She tilted her head slightly to one side, looking as if she was contemplating wheter or not she should say what she had in mind. After a few seconds she put down the now empty bucket on the floor and started segregating the roses that she put on the counter.  
“If it's not too personal” she tilted her head again, stopping for a second “it's quite unusual to see people be so distracted, that they can't notice something as big as a bucket with roses. Plus it was marked with a plate so people would be more careful.”  
Kieran felt a slight blush creeping on his cheeks. Knowing himself how ridiculous this situation was he felt even more embarassed when he was being called out on it.  
“So if it's not too personal, what caused this...thoughtfulness?” Cristina finished, looking up at Kieran from the flowers.  
He was never a person who talked a lot about himself. He didn't feel the need to rant about his feelings to other people, especially not to strangers. But now, when he was looking into Cristina's kind and gentle eyes he felt like he needed to talk. He needed to get this out of his chest. Kieran didn't tell anyone about the breakup yet. Something inside him stopped him,because telling others would mean that this is true. That this is the reality. That right now Kieran was dumped and single.  
He took a deep breath.  
“A few days ago my boyfriend broke u with me, after four years. He did it through phone” Kieran smiled bitterly at the memory.” I wasn't really myself the past few days. I was late to my classes and wanted to get to uni as fast as possible. And then...well, you know the rest.”  
Cristina looked at him with sadness in her eyes. She immediately turned her stare to the rose she wanted him to buy before.  
“Well, it wasn't the best time to suggest you buy a rose for your boyfriend was it?” she asked with a soft smile on her lips, putting the rose away. Kieran shook his head.  
“You didn't know my situation, so it's not a problem”  
“Still, I souldn't have assumed” she said, leaning on the counter. She tilted her head again, biting her lips a little harder. Kieran decided he finds this tic of hers absurdly adorable.  
Cristina straightened up and looked him in the eyes.  
“If it can make you feel a little bit better...Last month I found out that my boyfriend was cheating on me.”  
Kieran found himself thinking that it's impossible for a guy to cheat on such a beautiful girl. He creased his eyebrows in frustration. Of course it's possible. Evrything is possible.  
“Then he wasn't a worthy boyfriend” he answered, not really knowing what else to say. Cristina smiled brightly again.  
“Oh no, he wasn't. And he wasn't the best fiancé to the other girl either.”  
That left Kieran dumbfounded. He always thought stories like this happened only in books and movies. His naivety shocked him.  
“He had a fiancée at the same time when he was in a relationship with you?” Kieran chocked out.  
“Yup” Cristina nodded,rubbing her neck with a loud sigh “and I probably would still not know it the girl didn't contact me herself. She thought I knew about it and was trying to get her from him, but...we both left him after the whole situation.”  
Kieran stared at his wet shoes lost in thoughts. He decided to share them with Cristina.  
“Sfter Mark broke up with me I was sure that I am the most miserable person in the whole world. That no one will understand my pain and that I do not deserve such treatment” he said quietly, looking up at the flowers filling the shop “only now did I realise how selfish my thoughts were.”  
Cristina smiled at him brightly.  
“They were not selfish. Almost always we tend to feel more about our own problems. I did it too” she shrugged “ and then I realised that my situation wasn't the worst either. I was happy in that relationship but when I think, that if it wasn't for that other girl I would still be with a man who lied to me about who he was...I'm happy it ended this way and this fast.”  
Kieran thought about Mark. They have not seen each other for 2 months, since Mark moved abroad for a student exchange. He truly believed their love was strong ebough that they'll be able to maintain a long-distance relationship. Everything changed the day Mark moved. He barely called and texted, slowly distancing himself from Kieran. Maybe he planned this from the beginning? A change of place being his possibility for a change of life, which meant a change of partner too?  
Shaking his head Kieran looked at his phone. It was past 12:30 now and he realised that if to catch his professor today he would have to get to uni in 15 minutes. He looed down at his trousers again and sighed in frustration.  
Cristina cleared her throat, getting Kieran's attention back to herself.  
“You said you had to get to class fast right?” Kieran nodded ”I can ask my dad to give you a ride.”  
Kieran was really surprised by the offerIt was probably the only way for him to get there on time.  
“I can't really accept your offer. I caused you so much trouble with the roses and now...”  
Cristina didn't let him finish.  
“Don't worry and just wait here. Roses like water, they will look much better after I put them in a vase.” she picked up the roses she separated, that still looked good enough to be sold. She then started to go out, but stopped at the last moment. She tilted her head again, and now Kieran was sure that he really liked this tic. She turned back to him with a light blush on her cheeks “The roses like water and the florist really likes coffee”  
She stormed out from the shop without looking back. Kieran smiled to himself for the first day in four days.  
His day suddenly got a lot better.


End file.
